Snug-fitting collars which dogs can wear day and night in all weather conditions without the collar causing abrasion to the animal's skin are unknown in the prior art. Even leather collars—the belts of which have about the same surface characteristics as does a dog's skin—can cause abrasion, especially when the collar is wet or cold.
Moreover, because the fasteners used to secure these prior art collars feature a locking mechanism in which a single pin engages one of a series of spaced apart holes formed in the collar's belt, the fasteners limit the degree to which the collars can be adjustably fitted to individual dogs. Not only is the degree of adjustability of such a collar limited by its fastener, but also the latter's strength is at best marginal, depending as it does upon a structure in which a single pin engages a stretchable hole. Compounding these problems is the tendency, as the collar ages, for the belt to become brittle and the holes to enlarge, potentially allowing the animal to slip out of its collar and escape.
A need also exists for a safety collar which can be seen in the dark. Such a collar could be used in a wide variety of applications, including helping a pet owner to avoid accidentally stepping on his animal in a darkened hallway or room, as well as to facilitate a person's locating collar-bandable objects, such as scuba diving tanks, when they are obscured from view because of poor lighting conditions.